This invention relates to rare-gas halide lasers and more particularly to a method for efficient extraction of optical energy from lasers having simultaneous high-gain ultraviolet and low-gain visible wavelengths.
The prospect of obtaining stimulated emission on the C.fwdarw.A transition of XeF has tantalized many laser physicist for several years. The large bandwidth (.about.100 nm) and center wavelength at .about.470 nm offer the prospect of a tunable high-power gas laser operating over a large region of the visible spectrum.
Heretofore laser oscillation on the visible transition of XeF has been allowed to build up from spontaneous emission. The laser gain was very low and the laser pulse was relatively short; therefore, stimulated emission on the visible transition did not build up to a sufficient intensity to allow efficient energy extraction in the visible wavelength.
An article, "A Discharge Pumped Laser On The C.fwdarw.A Transition of XeF" by R. Burnham, in Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 48-49, July 1, 1979 sets forth such a laser.